The disclosure relates generally to closures and more particularly to closures having integral cable strain relief devices that are integral to the closure itself.
Cable closures are used in telecommunications cable networks for protecting spliced joints at connection points between two telecommunications cables and for protecting branch points or splitting points of telecommunications cables. In this case, the cable closures need to ensure the continuity of the telecommunications cables as though the telecommunications cables had not been interrupted.
The product catalog “Accessories for Fiber Optic Networks, Edition 1, page 75, Corning Cable Systems, 2001” discloses cable closures firstly in the form of inline cable closures and secondly in the form of dome cable closures, which all have a housing which defines an interior of the cable closure and seals off the interior thereof from the outside. Conventionally, assemblies for connecting, namely for splicing, telecommunications conductors guided in telecommunications cables are arranged in the interior defined by the housing of the cable closure.
In the case of cable closures in the form of dome cable closures, the housing is formed by a dome-like covering body and a sealing body, the sealing body de-fining cable insertion regions, which are sealed off on one side of the dome-like covering body and via which all of the cables can be inserted into the interior of the cable closure.
In the case of cable closures in the form of inline cable closures, cable insertion regions which are sealed off on two opposite sides of the covering body are formed for inserting cables into the interior of the cable closure, with the result that inline cable closures can be installed in one line with the cables.
DE 20 2010 006 582 U1 discloses an inline cable closure, having a housing, which delimits an interior of the cable closure and seals off the cable closure toward the outside, said housing comprising a covering body, said covering body comprises half-shells and provides on mutually opposite sides of the same cable insertion regions for inserting cables into said interior of the cable closure and/or for passing cables out of said interior of the cable closure, wherein compressible and/or deformable sealing elements are positioned at said mutually opposite sides of said covering body in the region of said half-shells. According to DE 20 2010 006 582 U1 the cable closure comprises on said mutually opposite sides of the covering body a cable strain relief device, each cable strain relief device having two cable guiding elements, whereby a cable to be re-strained can be fixed at a respective cable guiding element via a cable tie surrounding the cable to be restrained and the respective cable guiding element.
Against this background, the present patent application provides a novel cable strain relief device for a cable closure having improved guiding properties for the cable ties.
This is accomplished by the feature that on both sides of the at least one cable guiding element there are positioned cable tie guiding elements providing guiding surfaces, whereby the guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element being positioned at a first side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie entry side of the same, has a smaller distance from the cable guiding element than the guiding surface of a second cable tie guiding element being positioned at a second side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie exit side of the same.
These guiding surfaces provide an easy and reliable guiding for the cable tie when using the same to fix a cable to be restrained at the respective cable guiding element.
According to an exemplary embodiment, on both sides of the at least one cable guiding element there are positioned cable tie guiding elements having arc segmented guiding surfaces, whereby the arc segmented guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element being positioned at the first side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie entry side of the same, has a smaller radius than the arc segmented guiding surface of the second cable tie guiding element being positioned at the second side of the cable guiding element, namely at the cable tie exit side of the same. In exemplary embodiments, a center point of the arc segmented guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element and a center point of the arc segmented guiding surface of a first cable tie guiding element have a different distance from the respective cable guiding element. This provides an exemplary guiding function for the cable tie.
Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be explained in more detail, with-out any restriction being imposed, with reference to the drawing, in which: